The Technology

SolarReserve’s unique CSP technology allows energy from the sun to be stored and delivered to the grid on-demand, not just when the sun is shining.

SolarReserve’s technology offers several important benefits:

Energy Storage: By utilizing liquid salt to store the captured solar energy, energy can be delivered as needed, day and night.. The stable electricity supply reduces grid reliability impacts from other intermittent renewable energy sources.

Energy Day and Night: The stored energy in the salt can be used to produce electricity even when there is no sunlight, if needed. This is beneficial in California where peak electricity demand can continue after the sun goes down and other solar resources can no longer operate. In addition, with highly efficient heat transfer properties, the liquid salt provides a cost-effective way to store renewable energy.

US-made: SolarReserve’s technology utilizes components primarily manufactured in the US, as opposed to competing technologies which use mostly imported components.

SolarReserve’s technology was created in the US by engineers and scientists from Rocketdyne, the same minds behind the Apollo rockets that propelled man to the moon, the engines that launched the space shuttle, and the solar power system that keeps the International Space Station running.

The solar power tower with molten salt storage was demonstrated and proven at Solar Two, which operated in Dagget, California in the 1990’s. According to the Department of Energy, “Over the three-year operating lifetime, daily operation of Solar Two became relatively routine, with various performance records broken on a fairly regular basis.” (DOE SunLab Brochure, March 2000)